You Belong to Me Side Stories
by Kikiko
Summary: The untold tales from the world of "You Belong to Me". This episode: Russell's Dilemma - Russell counsels Edward's replacement on company policy.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Spell checked, proof read (really quickly), unbeta'd

(1) This book has not yet been released, but I liked the title. The full title is: Technological Foundations of Cyclical Economic Growth: The Case of the United States Economy by Nathan Edmonson.

**Edward's Arrival**

The morning of the twentieth was the day Roy's mother had told him that the new chauffer and his son would be coming to live over the garage. When she had told them at breakfast the day before, it had annoyed the thirteen-year-old to know that a kid would be under foot and messing up his yard. But even though he knew it was a bad idea to have this intruder around, he'd been a proper grown-up man and kept his thoughts to himself. Winry had been thrilled to have someone younger then her around and had announced her plans to get his new kid to do all sorts of tasks for her. Roy had rolled his eyes and ate his toast.

But today was the day they would be arriving by taxi. His mother had dressed them up in their best clothes, Winry in a bright frilly sun dress and him in a smart jacket and shorts suit. They lined up in front of the house staff and watched the taxi pull up to the front door. Beside him, Winry was telling him all about a boy from school in an excited rush of words, but Roy had his attentions elsewhere. He was contemplating his homework—his bonus homework—which consisted of writing another report on the benefits of crowd control in theme parks. While most of his classmates thought this was a great idea (they would 'have' to go to the very parks they were studying to make observations) Roy thought it was a chore and had told his professor that. But if it was for extra marks then he'd do it. He wanted to keep his grades high and make his mother proud.

The taxi pulled to a slow stop in front of Roy's mother. Curious, Roy shifted his weight to the side and looked into the back of the car. All he could see was a shape of an adult before the door opened and out came a tall, broad man to stand before them. Roy looked him over with a clinical interest, noting the glasses and the long hair pulled neatly back off his face. He was dressed fairly well, considering, and didn't seem too ugly looking, which was good.

"Mrs. Mustang," the man said, stepping forward to shake hands with his mother. Roy watched the taxi driver get out of the car and open the trunk, placing numerous bags on the gravel driveway. "It's very nice to meet you in person."

"And you, Mr. Elric, welcome to our house. These are my children, Roy and Winry."

"Very nice to meet you both," Mr. Elric said. Roy nodded at the man and extended his hand to him in greeting. Winry didn't seem to care.

"Dad-dy! I want out!"

"Ah-ha ha, excuse me. My son is still buckled up." Mr. Elric turned and reached into car. A moment later the other passenger side door opened up and out shot a small blur. Roy's eyes widened as a loud shout echoed across the yard.

"I can play _here_?" the small boy asked, turning around to look at the place. All Roy noticed was short golden hair, a very different color then his sister's and a wide mouth. With a whoop of joy, the boy was off running down the grass, quickly disappearing behind the trees.

"Oh, please excuse Edward. Our house didn't have much of a yard for him to play in. I'll go get him."

"Nonsense, Hohenheim, let him go. This is your home now too. He'll be fine to explore. The property is fenced."

Roy snorted softly under his breath; low enough that his mother wouldn't hear him. As the chauffer and his mother talked, he walked into the house. He didn't need to stay around and listen to that polite chatter or the introductions to the staff. He could be working on his report—as much as he didn't want to. However, his marks needed to continue to be high.

All thoughts of impropriety over the new help's son were gone out of his head as soon as he sat down at his desk. The fact that every once and a while he looked out the window, down across the yard, had nothing to do with the fact that he was looking for the new kid. He was just thinking of what to say next in his report. He was so close to being done, he wanted to finish up so he could get his snack from the kitchen and maybe start reading Edmonson's book, Technological Foundations of Cyclical Economic Growth (1). It had been sitting on his bedside table now for a whole week and he'd not had the time to look at it.

Chewing on the end of his pencil, Roy considered the paragraph he was working on. Should he end it by stating what the teacher was expecting or should he risk a lower mark by saying how he really felt about this task. Ah, choices. It didn't take him long to decide that he would let the teacher know what he thought of this make work project. Stabbing his paper with a period, Roy pushed his chair back from his desk and stood, arching his back and reaching to the ceiling.

Now for that snack.

Roy tugged at the collar of his dress shirt, heading towards the stairs. It was a bit too starched for his liking. He'd have to mention to his mother that he didn't like to wear it like that. Looking over his shoulder, Roy noticed that there was no one around at the moment. Smirking, he took the steps two at a time, sliding on the landings and holding onto the railing for an anchor. He landed on the marble floor at the bottom with a clap of his feet breathing heavily in excitement. Turning towards the kitchen, Roy did a little shuffle step that he had learned at dance class.

Not that he liked dance class, but he didn't hate it either. Plus, his mother said it was good for him to know because when he was old enough to take over the company, he'd need to know how to smooze the clients and the client's wives.

Roy froze. Before him there was a small…person-like thing coming towards him. At least he figured it was a person because he could see skinny legs but that was all he could see. Everything else was a profusion of flowers and foliage. It looked like a walking flower bush and Roy gave a quick bark of disbelieving laughter. The flowers with legs stopped, shedding several of the lilies around its feet. Small grunts of effort came forth and slowly the foliage lowered until a blond head and weird colored eyes peeped over at him.

It was that _kid_!

"What are you doing?" Roy asked, coming forward to look down from his full thirteen-year-old height. Which was quite considerable compared to this shorty.

"There's a bunch of _flowers_ outside. I pick'em for my da 'cause we didn't have nuthin' but weeds," the boy said, his English brogue thick.

"Of course there's flowers, moron. It's called a _garden_, and it's not supposed to be wrecked by you. How are you going to pay for that?"

"Pay…?" the boy said uncertainly. His chubby face twisted with confusion. Roy saw a smudge of dirt across one cheek.

"Yes, you've wrecked the garden and now my mother will be mad at you and you'll have to pay us back for killing them all; how are you going to do that?" barked Roy. He pressed his lips in annoyance looking down at this kid. The flowers in his arms had started to tremble and the eyes looked a bit over wet.

"I… I'm only six! I can't pay for your stupid flowers! They'll grow back, you know!"

Roy snorted diversely. "Maybe. But what happens now? We don't have any flowers to look at now because of you."

"So? You're rich; my da said so. Just buy some more!"

Frowning down at the kid, Roy felt more then annoyance at his insolence. He reached out and pressed a velvet yellow petal between his thumb and finger, crushing the delicate bloom. Roy pushed down on the flowers, crushing and bruising more of the blooms.

"Stop it!" shouted the boy, struggling to hold on to his bundle but the more Roy pressed, the more the flowers started to fall to the floor. The boy's face became red and tears filled his eyes. "Stop it, stop it! You suck!"

Angry, Roy slashed his hand through the whole bundle causing it all to litter the floor in a kaleidoscope of color. "I'm going to tell on you and get your father fired," hissed Roy, shoving the boy back.

The kid glared at him, his fists clenched at his side. "I hate you!" he shouted and ran back the way he came. Satisfied that he had won, Roy headed towards the library where he was sure to find his mother. He'd tell her what had happened and show her the destruction in the hall. Then he could sit back and watch the chaos.

As predicted, his mother was in the library talking on the phone. He slid up into one of his father's leather chairs to wait until she got off. Scuffing his feet against the carpet, Roy looked out the window, smiling as he imagined the fallout this would cause.

Roy saw the kid running across the yard, his little feet flying. At the bottom of the maple tree next to the side of the house, the kid leaped up and was gone behind the leaves. Roy narrowed his eyes in suspicion. What was that kid up to now…?

Barely half a minute later, with Roy still waiting for his mother and still watching the tree, the kid dropped like a stone from within the branches. He landed in a heap and immediately began to wail, clutching at his leg. The driver and the cook came running from opposite directions in response from the pain filled shrieks. Roy pressed his nose against the window watching. He hadn't even noticed that he had gotten out of his chair.

"What happened?" his mother asked, standing with him at the window.

"That kid fell out of the tree," said Roy, his eyes wide. The new driver had lifted the kid up into his arms and Roy saw blood. He gasped. "Is he going to be alright?"

Roy turned to his mother, but she was gone. He could hear her heels clicking rapidly down the hall and she came out, hurrying towards the commotion. They talked quickly and then the driver was placing the kid in the backseat with the cook. His mother jumped in the back and the driver sat behind the wheel of one of their cars and drove away.

Roy started to feel bad over how he'd treated the kid now. Perhaps it was his fault that the kid had fallen out of the tree, but no, he didn't push him to either climb the tree or fall out of it. It wasn't his fault. Satisfied that his guilt didn't have any basis, Roy left the library.

"Roy? What happened out there? I heard screaming?" Winry was on the landing, looking shaken.

Grinning at her, Roy thrust his hands into his pockets. "Ah, the kid fell out of the tree and hurt himself." Pointing down the hall at the mess of flowers that had yet to be taken care of, Roy turned his sister's attention to the damage. "Look what the kid did to our gardens."

"Holy cow!" said Winry. Roy smirked. That was pretty strong language for Winry. "Is he going to be alright?"

"I don't know. They took him in the car; probably to the hospital."

"Well…" Winry hopped down the stairs, a finger to her mouth in a thoughtful manner. "I bet I could make a flower arrangement for mom with those so they won't go to waste."

Roy shrugged. It didn't matter to him anymore. It was boring now. He returned to his room, leaving Winry to amuse herself with playing amongst the remains of the decimated garden. Flopping back on his bed, Roy pulled his book towards him and happily immersed himself within the theories there. Every now and again, he'd look up at the clock, noting the slow passage of time with a growing restlessness.

At five-thirty the sound of gravel crunching under a vehicle's tires interrupted his reading. Roy sprang up from his bed and rushed to his window. They were back…

The driver got out first, but he couldn't remember his name right now. Started with an H maybe…? Then he opened the back door and reached inside. Out came the kid with a new cast on his leg. Roy rather expected the kid to be crying, but he was chatting and smiling, though Roy couldn't hear exactly what he was saying to his father, he could tell that he was happy. And that surprised Roy.

He frowned. Why was the kid happy? He didn't get it. When he was six he hadn't acted like that. In fact he was dealing with an ailing father and the need to grow up quickly. He had to look after his mother and his sister just like his father had told him to. Now he was racing to grow up enough, to learn enough to be capable to take over the company as soon as he was old enough. Did kids really act like that…?

Without realizing it, Roy was starting to walk down the path of a fascination that would last well into his adulthood. Even as he watched the new driver carry his son into their home above the garage he knew he needed to learn more about this kid. But his actions earlier in the afternoon meant that he couldn't just be friendly with him. He'd have to watch from afar and see if he could figure this out on his own.

Roy watched until the door closed behind the kid's father's back and there wasn't anything more to see. His mother called to him from the bottom of the stairs. Roy stood there a moment more, his mind blank and his gaze focused on the garage. After a moment, he turned away and went to see what his mother wanted.

--End—


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own nor make any money from Fullmetal Alchemist or Sabrina.

This is my break from writing the last chapter of "You Belong to Me" which, if you're waiting for it, is taking forever to write. I've never had a chapter fight me this hard before. But the boys are not talking to me AT ALL. So, I apologize for the wait, but I can't help it.

**Russell's Dilemma**

Russell looked up as he heard the sound of a raised voice further down the hall. Further down he could see Jean backing out of Marcoh's office, hand to the back of his head, shoulder's stooped in submission, and in place of the usual unlit cigarette there was a toothpick. Russell paused to watch the end of whatever this was, curious to know more. The great big oaf was Edward's replacement and the adjustment period had been somewhat...bumpy. It seemed that the rest of the staff were being especially mean in singling out Jean and giving him a hard time—granted, it was a bit of a right of passage to endure this hazing. But still, for once, (really, he should be truthful; this was not the first time) he didn't want to participate.

From this distance he couldn't make out what Marcoh was saying but with a final loud bark the door was pulled closed, leaving Jean standing outside in a daze. Smiling a bit at the cuteness, Russell tucked the papers under his arm and walked forward to offer himself up as a friendly ear in case Jean wanted to vent. Jean turned and noticed his presence, blushed slightly and back went the hand to rub at his neck.

"Allô, Russell; saw that did you?"

Russell smiled in sympathy. "Yeah. What's he after this time? Didn't comb your hair the right way? Or perhaps you forgot to tie your shoes according to policy?"

Jean smirked, "Yeah, I guess."

"You know, you shouldn't take all this as what it's like to work here. They just like to give the newbies a hard time—kinda like breaking you in, you know?"

"Oh, I know," agreed Jean, lopsided smile sliding into place. Russell blinked once, then twice, processing the effect that smile was working on him and then immediately pushing it aside.

"I bet you do," replied Russell, laughing as one would when they are in denial. "Listen, don't take it so hard, okay?"

"I won't," said Jean, biting down on the toothpick, tilting it towards the ceiling. "Thanks."

Jean gave a jerky wave and turned, walking away. Russell stared after him in puzzlement. This would be the first time he was ever attracted to someone older then him. Though he wasn't sure of Jean's exact age, he knew it had to be at or near thirty at least. And the surprising thing to him was that he was okay with that. There was very little that he could think of that was wrong with Jean. He was fit (his arms alone needed to be licked generously). And tall; my God, he was tall. He always wore those slim pants that cupped his ass and his package so enticingly. Though Russell had noted this shortly after he started here, he hadn't been interested. Edward had just left three days ago and he missed him terribly.

Russell shook his head at his thoughts, readjusted the papers under his arm and continued down the hall after Jean. He knew that he was only looking to Jean because he was missing Edward. But he also knew that he shouldn't pine after him still. But he couldn't help himself. Edward was just so cute and the long hair suited him completely. In just two more days the tournament would start. He wished he had planned better and saved up enough money to go with Edward to America. He could kick himself for being so stupid.

"Next time..."

--End--


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